


Happy Birthday, Anthy!

by celastris



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, every day, happy birthday to my favorite girl!, i cannot stress how much of a roller coaster this is, juri is rich does illegal activities for a living and chooses to be terrifyingly insane, oh and there's some swearing i suppose, okay anyways PLS READ, this is a part of my utena future au so uh thats good to know, utena loves her girlfriend so much but gets SO insane about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:40:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29830584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celastris/pseuds/celastris
Summary: Utena has been planning to throw Anthy a surprise party for awhile now, but needs some help the day-of to get everything she needs and put it all together. It's just a chill little birthday party between friends right?Just a bunch of young adults celebrating a birthday couldn't be a hard thing to put together, or so Utena thought.Nothing could possibly go wrong with something as easy as this, Utena thought.
Relationships: Himemiya Anthy/Tenjou Utena, Kaoru Kozue/Kiryuu Nanami, Saionji Kyouichi/Shinohara Wakaba, juri arisugawa/being fucking insane
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be posted on her actual birthday, but i'm a few days late because i got insane and ended up writing WAAAY more than i originally intended to but yeah, i loved writing this and i hope you enjoy reading it! and blah blah blah you know the drill, go read the other fics set in my utena future au for more context on some details and also my in depth reasoning and explanations for characterizing them How I Do. 
> 
> also HAHA THE ITALICS ARENT WORKING AGAIN I HATE IT HERE
> 
> also if youre new here dont ask me about touga hes in prison i hate that greasy stank ass motherfricker

**Utena** : Could you do me a favor? Sorry to keep you out longer, but could you pick up some milk on the way home? We’re out  
**Anthy** : are you sure? i am almost certain we had over half a container left, last i checked?  
**Utena** : Nope! No milk, completely empty, chuu-chuu must’ve drank it all ahaha  
**Anthy** : oh no! i will have a talk with him when i get home, he has better manners than that!  
**Anthy** : well in theory he does  
**Anthy** : but yes, i will stop and pick up some milk on the way home. do you need anything else?  
**Utena** : Nope! That’s all, thanks pumpkin :)  
**Anthy** : of course! see you soon <3  
*************************************************************************************

“Okay guys, she bought it,” Utena said determinedly as she shut her phone off and slid it in her jacket pocket. Saionji, who’s car they were in, made some inaudible snarky comment under his breath until, after a sharp glare from the passenger’s seat, he repeated himself loud enough to hear.

“Just a question, but why am _I_ always the one driving?”

“I don’t have a car, I’m within walking distance of either essential things or the metro station? And the Kaorus just aren’t mentally stable enough to own a car. Like, neither of them should ever legally be allowed behind the wheel of a car.”

He huffed but gave a quick nod of approval at the last part, absolutely agreeing that a motor vehicle in the hands of a Kaoru was a deadly weapon, before continuing to whine annoyingly. 

“Okay _fine_ , but doesn’t Juri have like five fucking cars or something?”

“Yes, and they cost more than the two of you would on the black market, dead or alive.”

Utena and Saionji both jumped a little in their seats, startled by the sudden interjection from behind them.

“Jesus _christ_ Juri, I honestly forgot you were here—how are you always so quiet? I couldn’t even hear you breathe!” Utena exclaimed, laughing a little as she did.

“I know.” The stoic woman in the back replied, not bothering to answer the question or engage in any further conversation.

“Alright, anyways,” Saionji asked, desperately trying to fend off any impending road rage he felt the farther they got into the inevitable web of perpetually-gridlocked city traffic, “who do we have left? 

“Well Miki’s practicing for something, but he said he’ll meet us later for the party itself. Kozue is planning on meeting us later too, but she doesn’t have an excuse other than that she’s ‘hungover, needs a nap, and was smart enough to have actually gotten Anthy a gift already.” Utena read aloud, putting Kozue’s excuse in air-quotes. She continued reading, having pulled up the specifics everyone had sent in their planning groupchat, (which was essentially all of them minus Anthy), off her phone.

“Really? Damn, first time I’ve ever heard of her planning ahead, so props I guess. Who else? I know Wakaba’s got a ton of work to get through this afternoon, but she told me she’d be there on time tonight,” Saionji said as he casually took a peek in the rearview window, looking away immediately as Juri, unsettling as ever, threateningly stared him down.  
¬¬  
“I guess that leaves Nanami, who just said ‘sure,” Utena sighed. Juri groaned as she slammed her head on the back of Saionji’s seat, expressing an actual emotion for the first time day at the prospect of having to dealing with the self-centered, annoyingly chatty, (very punchable, by Juri’s standards), blonde.

“Did she capitalize it or not,” Juri deadpanned from the backseat, immediately catching on to something the others hadn’t. That wasn’t out of the ordinary, she did tend to be terrifyingly perceptive and detail-oriented about these things. Utena just turned her head quizzically at the question, pulling out her phone to check.

“Um, it’s lowercase I guess? Why?”

“She’s hungover too, calling it now,” Juri further commented with a smirk as she looked up to the mirror once again, making eye contact with Saionji who also seemed to understand what she was implying. Utena, however, remained the odd one out in her trademark hilariously oblivious confusion. 

“How do you even know that? Why would they both be hungover? That’s really weird too, because Nanami’s definitely said a couple times before that she doesn’t keep anything alcoholic at her place,” Utena asked with a clear, genuine unawareness of what she meant. Juri, rather than responding to her stupid question, just snickered and settled back in her seat, crossing her legs and pulling out her own phone to check something or other.

“Nanami _always_ capitalizes her texts. Kozue was drunk last night. Nanami has no alcohol at her place, but she’s _still_ somehow hungover. Connect the dots, dumbass,” Saionji explained condescendingly, the sarcasm laced in his tone only pissing her off further. 

“Hey! Don’t be a _dick_!” Utena shouted with a pout, folding her arms in front of her with a huff. Shifting her seatbelt a little to look out the window, she paused for a minute in thought, still confused and grumpy for another five seconds until it finally clicked. 

“ _OH, OKAY, DAMN_ —but no one ask her about it, she’ll just get defensive anyways, so find another way to bully her if your heart’s set on it. I need today not to have more problems than necessary or I am going to lose it,” she asserted, uncrossing her arms to mindlessly crack her knuckles. Was it an annoying habit? Yes, but it was an anxious tendency of hers, and she was certainly a little bit anxious today. 

“That’s alright, I have _more_ than enough material without bringing up her love life,” Juri casually chipped in from the back, examining her nails as the other two took a moment to decide whether or not to dissuade her from destroying Nanami’s will to live that afternoon.

The two in the front seat, (one much faster than the other), decided pretty quickly that they didn’t give a shit, as long as it was funny.

“Speak of the devil,” Saionji muttered with a roll of his eyes as he pulled up to the curb by Nanami’s (extremely expensive looking) townhouse, putting the car in park as they waited for her to come outside. It must have been a funny sight, his beat to hell cheap-ass sedan pulled into the curb in this particular neighborhood, but he didn’t have much time to think about that as Utena took the moment to turn to him before he could say something else snarky about the younger girl.

“Don’t be an _asshole_ , we’re trying to get her to _want_ to be here, capiche?” Utena snapped, yanking on a strand of his hair for emphasis. He let out a sharp curse and swatted her hand away, scowling as she heard him mutter a barely audible ‘fine’. 

“And I know I can’t stop _you_ , Juri, but I’m just going to ask nicely that you please don’t push her over the edge until _after_ Anthy’s party?” Utena pleaded, knowing it was probably a futile effort to someone who regarded verbally abusing Nanami as an Olympic sport. 

“No promises—but anyways, there she is,” Juri said, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as she poorly tried to suppress a laugh. She had been the first to spot Nanami, pointing her out to the other two as the blonde pulled her front door shut, walking away before stopping mid-staircase to stumble back upon forgetting to lock it. Once she did, she turned and clumsily made her way back down the steps, shoving her keys in her bag and hefting it further up her shoulder.

“Oh my god Juri, you were right— she looks like shit,” Saionji commented bluntly, as the girl made her way down the townhouse steps and to the back door of the car. Any other time Utena would have objected, but, though she wouldn’t say it out loud, Nanami did, in fact, look like shit. 

*********************************************************************************

They had made it to the shopping district just fine, despite having to go several blocks away to find any semblance of, (stupidly overpriced), parking. Nanami, as Juri had predicted, was _absolutely_ hungover. Her lips were incredibly chapped, she had heavy bags under her eyes, her hair was tied up in a ratty, scrunchie-bound bun with stray strands of hair sticking out all over, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her outfit consisted of an oversized, worn out grey hoodie with some odd logo on the front, jeans with a coffee stain near the knee, mismatching socks, and poorly-tied tennis shoes. 

While, for any normal person, she wouldn’t have looked out of the ordinary, this was Nanami Kiryuu. The girl dressed like she was attending Paris fashion week to go to the goddamn grocery store. You could, (Utena knew this from personal experience), go deliver some soup to her house while she’s home sick with the literal fucking _flu_ , and she’d be wearing a full face of makeup, meticulously styled hair, a full Prada skirt+top set, and color coordinated jewelry. (No shoes in the house though, she wasn’t _that_ insane). 

All that said, none of them could say they had ever seen her like this, but on the plus side, she was definitely too exhausted to cause problems at Full-Nanami capacity, something no one had any qualms about. Nanami remained quiet, the four of them standing at a street corner somewhere near the center of the shopping district while Utena began to start giving out instructions. 

“Alright, so here’s the plan. It’s 3:30 right now. Anthy gets off at the library at 6:00, and arguably stopping at the store will give us an extra 15-20 minutes. We need a pumpkin pie,” 

“Why can’t we just get a normal cake—"

“Shut the fuck up, Saionji, not that you would _know_ , but she doesn’t _like_ cake. Someone needs to get to the bakery a couple of blocks from here and handle that job—I sent out the address in the group chat for whoever goes. Someone has to get drinks, but keep it tasteful—if you bring back a 12 pack of beer or a Smirnoff or something, _I’m going to send you back to the store I do not care_.”

Nanami seemed to gag at the mention of alcohol, but the rest of them just ignored her as Utena continued. 

“Someone’s gotta hunt down the Party City that I’m vaguely aware is around here somewhere and get some party shit, I don’t really know exactly what that would be, so just figure it out at your own creative discretion.”

“Balloons would be cute, and I’ve already decided that Juri’s going to cover it because I don’t trust you,” she gestured sharply at a barely-conscious Nanami, “not to get something insulting on purpose, and you” she shifted her gaze to Saionji, “have no idea how women work.” 

Saionji opened his mouth to say something, before being cut off again by a somewhat-crazed looking Utena, steepling her fingers with an eerie calm look as she glared daggers at him, “I’m already a little wound up today, Saionji—but go ahead. Argue with me on this topic and see how I act. Do you really want to open that can of worms today?”

Saionji’s eyes widened as he gave a quick nod, agreeing that ticking her off right now would be _incredibly_ stupid. Before the tension between could get any more uncomfortable, Utena enthusiastically picked back up where she had left off without a hitch. 

“So you two figure out who’s doing drinks and who’s doing the bakery, Juri’s got the miscellaneous party stuff—Anthy’s favorite color is red, by the way—and I have to go get something myself. Meet back here by 5:30, because we need to get back in time to set things up, and I think at least Kozue needs a ride.”

They all began to split up before Utena stopped them, having forgotten one last thing she’d meant to add.

“And that leaves _plenty_ of time to hunt down not only the things I’m asking for but also, and while it isn’t required that you do and she certainly doesn’t expect you to, get Anthy a gift last minute if you feel like it.”

Saionji opened his mouth again, which Utena caught at lightning speed, gesturing for him to shut up before he could say anything with a disgruntled hum. 

“Saionji I don’t know who you’re trying to impress here by lying but, no, I know you have not gotten a gift yet. Keep testing me and I’ll uninvite you right now I swear to _god _,” she seethed pointedly, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation with her eyes shut tight before composing herself and perking back up with a chipper smile.__

__“Alright! Any questions?”_ _

__*******************************************************************************_ _

__“Hey there! How are you?” a young woman in a pink overall dress, pink boots, a pink sweater, and pink hair twisted in two buns on top of her head chirped as Saionji pulled the front door of the bakery open._ _

__He couldn’t help but smile a little upon entering as he was hit with a wave of warmth saturated with the smell of freshly baked pastries. It was a lovely contrast from the biting cold outside, and while Saionji was a little irritated at getting what seemed like the most boring task, that sentiment faded away as soon as he was inside._ _

__“I’m good, thanks!” he replied as he walked up to the counter, the pink lady, (she was, in fact, very pink), placing the last petit-four in the front display case before dipping back around the counter, making her way to meet him at the other end._ _

__Upon closer look, she was also wearing pink earrings, pink lipstick, and, oddest of all, pink colored contacts. He hadn’t noticed before but the bakery’s walls were all pink, with pastel pink tables and chairs, and almost every other element of the place being some semblance of the color. Even the windowpanes were tinted a slight pink, which was actually kind of impressive._ _

__“Hi! My name is Mio, and my favorite color is blue, if you couldn’t tell,” she said with a giggle, taking a minute to laugh at her own joke before tucking a stray hair behind her ear and continuing, “what can I get for you today?”_ _

__“Hey—so I actually have something a little specific I’m looking for, especially at this time of year, but I don’t suppose you’d have any pumpkin pie?” Saionji asked with uncertainty, thinking of how stupid it was for Utena to ask him to go find a pumpkin pie when it was practically _March_. _ _

__“Oh wow, the universe is crazy!” the pink lady exclaimed animatedly, flitting to the back without explanation before returning with a sizeable, noticeably warm box._ _

__Saionji gave her a questioning look, not quite sure what she meant until she stopped to explain._ _

__“Your luck must be on _point_ today, because I actually just made one! We haven’t carried any since early December, but I got bored of making the same old things and decided to take an extended lunch break and make a few pies, for fun—one of which, luckily,” she punctuated her explanation by opening the box to show off the very aesthetically pleasing, amazing smelling pumpkin pie, “happened to be pumpkin!”_ _

___I found the pie, I found a pumpkin pie in fucking February, who’s the idiot now, Utena?_ He thought to himself smugly, ego blown beyond belief at how lucky he’d gotten but keeping a straight face in front of the baker. _ _

__“Are you sure?” he asked with a tone of shallow concern, really hoping that she was, in fact, sure._ _

__“Yeah of course—sure I love this stuff, but god knows I stress bake more than I could ever eat, so by all means!”_ _

__“Thank you so much, seriously!” Saionji said back with a smile as he pulled out his wallet and looked for his card, the pink lady nodding her head and giggling as she closed the box and tied it with a fancy, (pink), ribbon._ _

__He gave the woman a warm wave goodbye before stepping back out into the cold, pie-box in hand. She had even had some spare birthday candles lying around, and had been sweet enough to throw them in for free._ _

__He had to keep that place in mind for later. It definitely seemed like the kind of thing Wakaba would be into._ _

__*******************************************************************************_ _

__Juri couldn’t help but feel a full body cringe at the fact that she, _Juri Arisugawa_ , had just entered a Party City of her own free will. _ _

__She was too expensive for Party City. It was demeaning._ _

__Regardless, she couldn’t go back now, because lord knows she wouldn’t have walked into a Party City without a laser-focused intent on getting something out of the horrible ordeal. Well, Anthy and Utena getting something, but whatever. She didn’t have anything else to do that day, anyways._ _

__The air was thick with a scent that could only be described as a mix of cheap latex, dingy air, and an untraceable sickly-sweet odor that extended far past the candy aisle and into every crevice of the building. There was an untraceable, suffocating humidity from the second she had stepped through the scratched automatic sliding doors, despite the fact that it was freezing outside. The yellowing lighting and sparsely stocked shelves radiated mediocrity, and to top it off, upon somehow surviving her 20-minute despair-inducing hunt for miscellaneous party things and making it up to the register, she was met with an incredibly depressed looking employee in an oversized uniform-polo shirt, clearly struggling to stay awake._ _

__“Welcome to Party City, will this be all,” the boy said in the most defeated tone she had ever heard from another human being. Juri set the items she was holding on the counter, (just some red and gold napkins, plates, and some Solo cups), before glancing up to the balloons lining the wall behind him. There was an overwhelming amount, with most of them being tacky, for an unrelated holiday, or in other ways unsuitable for this party._ _

__Instead of driving herself insane making a decision about shiny bags of helium, she decided to just go with some simple ones—the normal solid color, round, matte, etc. kind._ _

__Juri pointed out the balloons in question, and asked for three red ones and two gold ones to go along with the other items. She didn’t actually know how many balloons to get, but being that she would have rather hurled herself off a cliff than ask a question she did not already know the answer to at a Party City, she figured five was a satisfactory bet._ _

__“Thank you, and have a nice da—um, excuse me!” she heard the boy yell out from behind her, voice somehow still maintaining that blanket of party-supply store-inducing despair as he jogged over to the front doors, “you forgot this, you must have given me the wrong bills by mistake.”_ _

__“No I didn’t,” she deadpanned right back at him, intimidating the teenager a little bit as he responded, voice cracking mid-sentence as he shakily clutched the five hundred-dollar bills in his hand. Upon closer look, the kid couldn’t have been any older than sixteen at _most_. _ _

__“Uh well, we aren’t allowed to take tips, if that’s what you meant? Sorry for assuming if you didn’t, I didn’t mean to be impolite I just—” the boy ranted anxiously, eyes flitting around the room until Juri harshly cut him off._ _

__“Shut up.”_ _

__“Yes ma’am,” he squeaked, freezing in place._ _

__He looked terrified as Juri leaned in close, face threateningly stoic but eyes alight with urgency as she grabbed his shoulders and spoke._ _

__“Take it. Take all of it, be smart about it, and do what you can to get out of here no matter what. Understood?”_ _

__Juri had to take a second to weigh out whether or not to follow this with something a little bit impulsive, but decided to indulge herself for once._ _

__“Walking into this store took years off my life, and I will never do it again. However, I have a hunch there’s a will to live somewhere in that gangly, acne-ridden, scrawny little body, so take this.”_ _

__Any other person would have taken this as an insult, but the teenager was still too scared to think much at all, continuing to stand statue-still and wide eyed as she went on._ _

__“Don’t let this place leech you dry. If you really want a chance of doing something better with your life, contact me by the end of this week.” She pulled a minimalist white business card out of her inside pocket, one that listen only her name, a phone number, and an email, sans-occupation, and slid it in the boy’s front pants pocket before he could anxiously object._ _

__“Oh, and that model of camera,” Juri said, casually gesturing at one of the store security cameras facing the register, “doesn’t pick up audio, and there’s a blind spot here, there, the back corner of the third aisle, and the entirety of the wedding stationary section. Sloppily done, but they can’t see you pocket the cash. Do what you want with that information.”_ _

__He stood there for a second, awestruck and beyond confused, frozen at the doorway the coolest person he had ever interacted with had just stepped through, before doing something he had never thought he was capable of._ _

__He smiled. He smiled in a Party City._ _

__Without a word, he ripped his nametag off, tossed it on the counter, manually shut the front door and flipped over the sign to ‘CLOSED’, before running faster than he ever had in his life to the back room to tear off his uniform shirt, toss it on the break room floor, and throw on the hoodie in his own bag before grabbing it and running back to the front._ _

__“Almost forgot,” he muttered to himself, slightly winded, as he reached the door. Scrambling over to reach behind the counter, grab a sharpie, and tear off a piece of receipt paper, he scribbled something quickly and stuck it to the sliding glass door-panes with a sense of raw euphoria on a scale he had never even dreamed of._ _

__As he locked the doors and threw the keys inside as they shut behind him, (the manager, who would be livid when he came back to the store, had a key so it was fine), he picked up from a jog to a run, seeing what he hoped was the same ginger-haired figure a ways off on the straight expanse of pavement._ _

__He was running on pure adrenaline, his scrawny, out-of-shape sixteen year old body driven by the burst of energy scribbling “I QUIT” in thick black marker and finally leaving that awful job on the spot brought._ _

__As the figure grew easier to make out, (expensive coat, bright ginger hair— _definitelt_ the same woman), all he could do to quell his nerves is stay in the moment pray that he wasn’t being scammed. _ _

__“Wait, ma’am!” he shouted down the street, really hoping that this wasn’t some random similar looking tall-expensive-ginger-lady. Luckily, it wasn’t._ _

__Juri calmly turned on her heel, a ghost of a smirk gracing her face as the kid approached her. He was practically doubled over on his knees, borderline-hyperventilating as he tried to get out a sentence in between wheezes._ _

__“Can I t-take you up o-on the offer n-now?”_ _

__Her smirk turned into a smile, almost as if she knew this would happen, before giving a curt nod of approval, inviting the boy to walk with her._ _

__************************************************************************************_ _

__“Ow! Look where you’re going, why don’t yo—” Nanami began to snap at whoever had just knocked her flat on her back on the pavement as she approached the store. However, she trailed off very quickly upon seeing a blushing, messy-haired Kozue on top of her, practically straddling her in the middle of a crowded city street. The two just stared at each other for a couple of seconds, both frozen like deer in headlights, before Nanami came to her senses and shoved Kozue off of her._ _

__“What the hell are you doing here?” she exclaimed, both confused and irritated at this random, unwanted turn of events._ _

__Kozue gave an unassuming smile back, fishing a small bottle out of her tote bag and shaking out a pill into her palm before offering it up to her._ _

__“Aspirin?”_ _

__While she would have loved to swat it away, her pounding headache outweighed her desire to be petty, so she snatched the tablet and dry swallowed it with a grimace._ _

__“They _know_ , y’know,” Nanami grumbled, somehow not surprised at how shitty her luck seemed to be that day, “noone’s said anything but I can see it in their _eyes_.”__

____“Know what?” Kozue replied with an unassuming smile, examining her fingernails nonchalantly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Nanami.”_ _ _ _

____“ _I am going to fucking kill you_ ,” the blonde hissed, trying, and failing, to look menacing to an increasingly more amused Kozue._ _ _ _

____“Ooooo, Nanami said the f-word,” Kozue sung condescendingly, “that’s not very nice, _is it_?”_ _ _ _

____As she did so, her voice trailed off to a whisper as stepped a little closer, smirking as she tilted the other girl’s chin up a little. Nanami was fire-engine red at this point, even more annoyed at how easily Kozue was flustering her today. _It's just because I’m tired_ , she tried to convince herself, _she acts like this around everyone, and I’m only going easy on her because I’m tired_._ _ _ _

____The blonde snapped herself out of it, jerking back with an inaudible groan of embarrassment as she buried her face in her hands. Much to her further irritation, Kozue started cracking up again, completely unphased._ _ _ _

____“And so what if they figure out, huh? Would it _really_ be the end of the world?”_ _ _ _

____“I have a _REPUTATION_ to maintain, Kozue!” Nanami snapped back harshly, looking a little guilty after she did. _ _ _ _

____“Nah, I understand—you can’t offend me with information I already have, sweetheart,” Nanami opened her mouth to interject, only to be cut off before she could say anything._ _ _ _

____“You know, Saionji knows 100% who’s sweatshirt that is,” she paused to gesture at the one on Nanami, “he texted me from the car the minute you walked out in it laughing his ass off, but, and you’re welcome for this one cutie, I convinced him not to tell anyone,” Kozue lilted with a smirk, reaching over to pinch the other girl’s cheek before her hand was quickly swatted away. Nanami let out a sigh of relief, noting this as one of the only times in her life she would be grateful to Saionji for anything._ _ _ _

____Kozue began to walk away from the store and Nanami, for some reason she herself wasn’t quite sure of, decided to go with her. The two walked for a few blocks, with Kozue continuing to push her buttons for fun, and Nanami only growing more embarrassed by the second. It wasn’t until they came back around to the topic of their involvement with one another that Kozue started to let up a little._ _ _ _

____“Listen, babe,” (Nanami elected to ignore the pet name), “I’m not going to pressure you to do anything you don’t wanna, I’m not that much of a douchebag, but listen to me for a minute.”_ _ _ _

____She grabbed Nanami’s shoulder, stopping the two of them where they were. It was an awkward place to stop, right in the middle of a busy street, but Kozue didn’t seem to care, as was the case with most things. Her expression, oddly, looked somewhat genuine for once, which Nanami found a little unsettling._ _ _ _

____“I don’t really know what goes on in that silly little tsundere skull of yours,” she began, jokingly tapping Nanami’s forehead, “but no one’s out to get you, y’know.”_ _ _ _

____“No, absolutely not, we are absolutely not doing this today,” Nanami asserted dismissively as she tried to get Kozue to let go of her and get away, to no avail._ _ _ _

____“No, _listen to me_ , despite whatever your weird perception of us is, we don’t give a flying fuck about your status, or your reputation, or any of that ‘insecure second-favorite child in a prestigious family’ stuff that I’m sure keeps rattling with all that denied trauma in your head. I’m serious.”_ _ _ _

____Nanami remained frozen as Kozue paused for a moment, making sure the other girl was alright before moving her hands away from her shoulders, taking her hands in hers warmly as she continued._ _ _ _

____“And I don’t know if you remember any of the shit you confessed to me last night, but it isn’t your job to be the ‘good’ Kiryuu, alright? No one expects you to constantly try and compensate for your dumpster-fire excuse for a brother, _especially_ not any of us. I know you think you’re hot shit, but you’re an open book Nanami—you act like a bitch because you’re insecure, and you’re hurt, and you’re honest-to-god lonely as hell, _but no one hates you_. When we pick on you, it’s all for fun, not because of, like, actual malice or anything. At _most_ , some of us find you periodically annoying, and that’s as far as it gets,” Kozue punctuated this with a soft smile, Nanami clearly fighting off tears as she finished. _ _ _ _

____“Your last name doesn’t mean _shit_ , okay? You’re not just a Kiryuu, or Touga’s sister, and you definitely aren’t Touga. You’re Nanami, and no one expects you to be anything else, okay?” _ _ _ _

____Before she had a chance to ask Nanami if she was alright in re of all that, the girl had darted forward to hug Kozue, catching her off guard as she buried her face in the other girl’s chest and cried. Kozue wasn’t really sure what to do, so she awkwardly pet her, (notably soft), golden hair for a good five minutes or so, ignoring all the people giving them rude stares as they walked by, until she’d gotten it all out of her system._ _ _ _

____“Th-thank you” Nanami whispered, voice further muffled by Kozue’s shirt._ _ _ _

____“No problem—I’m not used to doing emotions sober, but by all means I’m glad I helped,”_ _ _ _

____“Tell anyone you saw me cry and I will _end you_ , understand?” she mock-scolded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve after pulling back. _ _ _ _

____Kozue just rolled her eyes and shook her head with a laugh, casually slipping Nanami’s hand into her own as the two continued down the street._ _ _ _

____Nanami didn’t pull hers away._ _ _ _

____**************************************************************************_ _ _ _

____Utena, hefty bookstore bag in hand, tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the others to show up. It was already 5:45 by the time she saw Saionji making his way there, 15 minutes late with no one else in sight. No one was answering her texts, which were growing less and less friendly by the minute._ _ _ _

____She had been prepared to take her irritation out on Saionji once he’d gotten there, but let him off the hook once he immediately began bragging about the pie. Utena was impressed that he’d somehow managed to track down an entire, fresh pumpkin pie in February, and for the first time in awhile, she decided to give him a brownie point or two._ _ _ _

____That reprieve from her increasingly poor mood didn’t last long, as it was another 10 minutes before Nanami showed up, walking hand in hand with Kozue, of all people. Any other day Utena would’ve asked some questions about whatever they had going on, but right now she was far too stressed to care._ _ _ _

____“Pick up the pace!” Utena shouted down the street, “you’re already 15 minutes late!”_ _ _ _

____“Sorry, I just—" Nanami tried to halfheartedly apologize, Kozue just standing there awkwardly next to her, but she didn’t get the chance in the face of an extremely frazzled Utena._ _ _ _

____“What about 5:55 sounds like 5:30??”_ _ _ _

____“Utena, you need to chill out,” Saionji said way too authoritatively for his own good as he went to place a hand on her shoulder. That was a mistake._ _ _ _

____“,” Utena seethed, using what little restraint she had left to simply slap his hand away rather than breaking his wrist, running a hand through her as she nervously checked the time on her phone, “and where the fuck is Juri?”_ _ _ _

____“Just got here” she heard suddenly from behind her, startled a little as she whipped around._ _ _ _

____“It’s 6:00, Juri!” she exclaimed, the older woman not seeming to care that she was a full half an hour late. In thinking that things couldn’t get anymore confusing, Utena was proven wrong when she noticed a scrawny little teenager she had never seen before standing sheepishly beside her._ _ _ _

____“ _WHY DO YOU HAVE A CHILD_.”_ _ _ _

____“Mind your business—also, we’re giving the kid a ride home,” Juri replied back matter-of-factly, already making her way down to where they had parked, the kid scurrying in tow._ _ _ _

____“So you show up 30 minutes late and then ask me for a _detour_?” Utena hissed, having jogged up to meet Juri’s pace, the others loosely following behind her. _ _ _ _

____“Yes. Did I stutter?”_ _ _ _

____Utena ground her nails into her palms, barely suppressing a scream as she remained silent, taking deep breaths until they all made it to the car._ _ _ _

____“I can’t fit 6 people in my car, yknow,” Saionji tried to tell them all as they started to pile into the beat up sedan. Juri took it upon herself to solve that problem very quickly, in, as most things she does are, a horribly morally ambiguous manner._ _ _ _

____She was trying to shove a child into the trunk of Saionji’s car._ _ _ _

____“Get in the trunk.”_ _ _ _

____“I-is that l-legal?”_ _ _ _

____“I said. Get. In. The. Trunk.”_ _ _ _

____“Yes ma’am!”_ _ _ _

____Before any of them could say anything, the kid was curled up in the tight trunk-space, folded up like an adirondack chair as his eyes widened in fear, Juri slamming the door shut on him. She glared at them all wordlessly as they all gave up on the matter and got in, Saionji and Utena in the front, and Juri in the back next to Nanami on the lap of Kozue, and all the stuff they’d gotten piled between the two of them, balloons floating around the ceiling of the car._ _ _ _

____It was an awkward drive home._ _ _ _

____**********************************************************************************_ _ _ _

____After having dropped off the kid, (Utena was still pissed about that, but didn’t have the time to start a fight about it now), she practically kicked her apartment door open as she ushered the others inside, teeth clenched in frustration as she tried her best not to shout at them._ _ _ _

____“Alright, we have 5 minutes, so some of you go start setting up the party shit in the living room, I doubt there’s much you can get up in 5 minutes, Saionji give me the pie, and Nanami—wait a second,” Utena froze for a second as she looked over the notably empty-handed blonde, “ _where are the drinks Nanami_?”_ _ _ _

____Nanami, despite being as terrified as everyone else in the room was of the girl currently staring her down like a predator about to tear apart a piece of meat, quickly resigned to the fact that she had no choice but to answer, eventually, and responded quietly, eyes darting to the floor._ _ _ _

____“Um…I forgot.”_ _ _ _

____“ _YOU HAD ONE JOB, HOW DID YOU FORGET_?”_ _ _ _

____Kozue gave Utena a dirty glare as she tried to calm down, letting out a muffled scream into her palms before regaining her composure somewhat. Turning back to Saionji, she tried to keep her tone steady as she optimistically focused on the fact that they, at least, still had the pie!_ _ _ _

____“Saionji, give me the pie so I can take it to the kitchen.”_ _ _ _

____“No, it’s okay—I’ll bring it over there so you can help here_ _ _ _

____“ _Give me the fucking pie, Saionji_.”_ _ _ _

____“I’m already going—"_ _ _ _

____Oh no. Oh no. Saionji had never been in their apartment. He had never been down the kitchen hallway._ _ _ _

_____Saionji didn’t know about the loose floorboard_. _ _ _ _

____“Shit!” She heard from down the hall with a loud thump, running over to check what had happened. Her worst fears were confirmed when she was met with a Saionji, sprawled out in pain on the floor, and more importantly, the pie. The ruined, face down, splattered-across-the-floor pie, destroyed pie._ _ _ _

____Utena snapped._ _ _ _

____“ _GODDAMMIT_ ,” she screamed, punching a hole in the drywall next to her before she could give it a second thought. She vaguely heard some sort of apology near her, along with some promise to clean up the pie, but she was too far gone to take it in. Now, not only was the party ruined, but her hand hurt like a motherfucker, she was about to cry, there was a hold in her fucking _drywall_ , and Anthy was almost home. _ _ _ _

____She would have loved to have Wakaba or Anthy herself here, because when she got like this, everyone else, to no fault of their own, just ended up exacerbating her emotional distress. All she had wanted was to throw a good birthday for Anthy, who deserved it more than words could say. While Utena was sure she didn’t expect anything to begin with, a sight like this could disappoint even the expectation-less, and so she wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve and hauled herself up straight, walking to the front door as she heard the bell ring, not even knowing what to say to her girlfriend._ _ _ _

____She opened the door with a sigh, only to be met with a smiling Wakaba and Miki, the latter holding some sort of container in hand. Utena had forgotten they were even coming, between all the events that had gone down that day, and tried to force a weak smile as she ushered them inside. While this definitely left her relieved for a second or two, the dread that Anthy would inevitably be coming through that door returned, leaving her just as dejected as before. Before she could say anything to either of them, both Wakaba and Miki obliviously blew past her obviously somber demeanor and started talking._ _ _ _

____“Hey Utena! Sorry for cutting it close, I wanted to meet Miki so he didn’t have to make his way here alone!”_ _ _ _

____“Y-yeah, I’m so sorry for being late, I completely lost track of time, but I brought this to make up for it!” Miki stuttered, holding out a box to a clearly defeated-looking Utena. She took it wordlessly, on the verge of tears again as the flipped the lid open, somewhat tuning out Miki as he kept talking._ _ _ _

____“Kozue and I didn’t really have anything else party-worthy, so I hope this is alright—our mom was over, and while, yes, she might not be the most savory person herself, she makes some _amazing_ pies, and I know it’s unconventional but—” _ _ _ _

____Utena opened the container, expecting _less_ than nothing at this point, only to be met with the most beautiful, unbelievable, raw joy-inducing image to have ever graced her eyes. After carefully placing the box on the nearest table, (careful not to let anything happen to it this time), she practically jumped on Miki, thanking him profusely as he struggled to breathe._ _ _ _

____“I didn’t realize you liked pumpkin pie this much, Utena?”_ _ _ _

____“ _I DON’T_ ” she exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. Before she could say more, she heard some noise coming from the living room, and sighed as she picked the box back up and darted over there, expecting, at best, mediocrity but at least glad she’d managed to secure what she already had. _ _ _ _

____However, she was met with a room decorated with gold and red streamers and balloons, a table laid with coordinated cups and plates, and, shocking her most of all, her coffee table laid with a spread of varied wine bottles, as well as some lemonade for those so inclined. They’d also managed to tape up a hand-made happy-birthday banner, (albeit made of taped-together printer paper), on the wall, sporting Anthy’s name in sharpie-bubble letters, (probably Nanami), and a little doodle of Anthy in the corner, (judging from a tiny smudge of pumpkin besides it, probably done by Saionji)._ _ _ _

____Someone, she noticed as she quickly passed it, had even taped a piece of printer paper over the hole in the drywall now situated smack-in the middle of her hallway wall._ _ _ _

____Utena would talk to Anthy about that part later._ _ _ _

____“Oh, guys! Where did you even get the—”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah, I had some in my bag that I bought earlier, I just forgot,” Kozue said nonchalantly, as if the weight of _several wine bottles_ in her tote bag was something she was just able to ignore. Knowing her, though, it was believable._ _ _ _

____Before she could thank them anymore, the doorbell rang—a funny little habit of Anthy’s, even though she had her own set of keys. This gave Utena a split second to dart over to the light switch and flick it off, crouching by it as she heard the lock click and the door swing open._ _ _ _

____“Utena? Are you ho—”_ _ _ _

____Before she could finish, she was met with the sudden switch of the light on, Utena popping out from behind the door and the living room full of their friends. Some looked a little more enthusiastic than others to be there, but, yes, full of her friends nonetheless._ _ _ _

____Anthy froze for a minute, spooked by the surprise, before breaking out into a huge smile upon regaining her composure, dropping her bag and running to give her girlfriend a hug that almost knocked her over._ _ _ _

____“What is going on? You did not have to do this for me!” Anthy said, tearing up a little as she laughed, profusely thanking everyone else, (even Saionji, who got his singular ‘thank you’ for the year), until Juri begged her to stop._ _ _ _

____“And how did you manage to find a pumpkin pie in March?” Anthy asked Utena, smiling as she spent the next couple of minutes asking everyone how they did this, how they were doing, and doing some more indirect-thanking after a side eye from Juri._ _ _ _

____Utena let a sigh as she watched her girlfriend enjoy herself, something _unthinkable_ as recent as few years ago, and slumped against the wall to let herself relax for the first time all day. _ _ _ _

____******************************************************************************_ _ _ _

____The party had gone pretty well, even gaining the genuine approval of Anthy afterwards, who was the furthest thing from a party person imaginable, (regardless of time, situation, or psychological state, an introvert is an introvert!). They had finished ushering everyone out, saying their last goodbye to Miki and Kozue a half an hour ago, which just left Anthy, curled up on the couch with Chuu Chuu on her lap, and Utena, who was throwing away the last of the disposable cups before pulling the bookstore bag she had been carrying from the store earlier out of the hallway closet, bringing it back to the living room._ _ _ _

____“Oh, Utena, you did not have to get me anything! You have already done so much today!” Anthy exclaimed with a smile, climbing into Utena’s lap to bury her in a very warm but borderline-suffocating embrace. While Utena would have loved to stay like that for hours, she was really excited about the gift she had gotten her, and hoped more than anything that she would like it, (hopefully she did, because sweet LORD was it expensive)._ _ _ _

____She held her breath in anticipation as Anthy moved back over to her side of the couch and grabbed the bag, reaching to pull out what was inside. A huge wave of relief washed over Utena as she saw the unfiltered excitement on the other girl’s face, knowing that she’d hit the nail on the head._ _ _ _

____“Oh my goodness, Utena!” she was already sniffling again, teary-eyed as she kept flitting her eyes between the box and Utena, not being able to find the words to thank her amazing girlfriend enough. Utena didn’t mind, because anything she could have said went unspoken between the two, all the thanks she could need being right there, in the form of her beaming girlfriend crying over a collector’s edition box-set of the entire Harry Potter series._ _ _ _

____After finally calming down a little, she clambered back over to Utena, resting her head on her shoulder with a contented sigh as the other started playing with her hair, twisting one of the violet strands in her finger absentmindedly as Anthy began to softly speak._ _ _ _

____“I love you _so much_ , Utena, and today was so sweet of you, but I really hope that you did not go through too much trouble?”_ _ _ _

____Utena just chuckled at this, not having the heart to tell her girlfriend, ever-concerned to a fault about the comfort of others, about the rollercoaster of a day she’d had. Instead, she just smiled, wrapping her arms around Anthy’s waist and pulling her in tighter, responding just as softly to her in the dim glow of the muted living room lamplight._ _ _ _

____“Oh, don’t worry, Anthy,” she replied convincingly, “it was a piece of cake.”_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was thinking about writing about the night before where kozue and nanami got drunk that i kept mentioning, but i didn't know if people would wanna read that lol, so if you do comment below! (full disclosure though it would definitely raise the content rating LMAO)  
> also check the next chapter for a cute surprise lol
> 
> (as usual, if you enjoyed this leave some kudos or a comment, and if you have any ideas let me know! have a great day!)


	2. Birthday Cards!! :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> god save me from the hell ao3 just made me endure embedding these images  
> also yes wakaba misspelled your on purpose its cute and endearing from her


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